NCRR Workshop Promotes Efficient Use of NIH-Funded Core Facilities
Recently the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) held a two-day Workshop on Efficient Management and Utilization of Core Facilities. The purpose of this interactive workshop was to discuss the state of existing NIH-funded research core facilities, identify problems involving their operation and use, and to propose potential ways to address common challenges to their maximum use and efficiency. Approximately 200 institutional officials, core directors, NIH staff, and research leaders participated in the event. Dr. Carolyn Meltzer, ACTSI Translational Technologies & Research program director attended the workshop. "There was substantive discussion on enhancing core access, obstacles related to administering core facilities under the current NIH policies, and opportunities for consolidation and regionalization of core facilities. Several participants and panelists discussed struggling with the development of databases, such as ACTSI's eBIRT project for disseminating information about core technologies and services. The growing network of CTSAs would provide a foundation for regional cores that could optimize the balance of utilization and expense for high-end technologies. The recommendations of this workshop are likely to be encapsulated in a forthcoming white paper and to shape future NIH policy related to core facilities," said Dr. Meltzer. Read more...